Aug 2, 2023

Our 2023 Rookie Draft has come and gone and every one of us has a new found hope that they’ve found a few diamond in the rough (except Charleston and Nashville, of course). Trent and I both agree that the Rookie Draft has quickly become our favorite facet of the FCS. The draft itself has so many moving parts, but the lead up to the draft has also become something to behold and may rival the FCS Playoffs in terms of anticipation. The FCS used to rely on draft cash to tip the scales in trades, but rookie picks have now unanimously taken the mantle. The best part, arguably, is the volatility that comes with trading picks. That first you acquire could be a Garrett Wilson or Chris Olave, but it could just as easily be Treylon Burks or Skyy Moore. It’s the hope that makes it so special, and not just leading up to the draft, but seeing if those scouting reports pan out.

In my opinion, the 2022 draft class has got to be viewed as a major success. There are 4 rookies from that group that are currently ranked as top 25 players in FantasyPros dynasty rankings. It’s a lot easier to pull the trigger on a trade when you view the asset as “22 TCB 1st” as opposed to “Garrett Wilson”. That being said, we obviously don’t have the luxury to assign names to picks before the draft actually happens. And even after the draft, we aren’t sure what we have until we see the player in game action. However, now that we know the player and have a pretty good idea of how good the player is, let’s look back on trades involving those 4 guys in the top 25. So who are the 4 players?

#25 Drake London: (22 VBR 1st)

#13 Chris Olave: (22 BSC 1st)

#9 Garrett Wilson (22 TCB 1st)

#6 Breece Hall (22 NAS 1st)

Drake London

Trade 1

What it looked like then:

DC:

1. 22 VBR 1RP

VBR:

1. 22 DCA 1RP

2. 23 DCA 1RP

3. $2

What it Looks like now:

DC:

1. Drake London

VBR:

1. Skyy Moore

2. Zay Flowers

3. $2

It looked like Virginia Beach was getting a haul when this one went down. This speaks to the volatility of picks. Skyy Moore floundered, while Drake London delivered on some of his hype. Unless Zay Flowers turns into something special, I like DC in this one. 

Trade 2

What it looked like then:

LRC:

1. 22 VBR 1RP

2. 22 CHA 2RP

DC:

1. Davante Adams

2. 23 LRC 1RP

What it looks like now:

LRC:

1. Drake London

2. John Metchie III

DC:

1. Davante Adams

2. Jonathan Mingo

This one is really fascinating. For the short term, Adams had a great season and delivered on expectations, while London had some growing pains. For the long term, Adams is aging and London offers huge potential. This one may hinge on what Metchie and Mingo turn into. I’ll call it a push.

Trade 3

What it looked like then:

TCB:

1. 22 VBR 1RP

2. Antonio Gibson

LRC:

1. CHA 22 CHA 1RP

2. 2. REN 22 REN 1RP

What it looks like now:

TCB:

1. Drake London

2. Antonio Gibson

LRC:

1. Kenneth Walker

2. Jameson Williams

This is another tough one. At the end of the regular season this looked like a landslide for the Caps. A Jameson Williams suspension and Seattle taking a 2nd round running back now leaves me conflicted. Cat wins this one, too.

Chris Olave

Trade 1

What it looked like then:

DC:

1.  22 BSC 1RP

2. $2

BSC:

1. Kyler Murray

2. TUC 22 TUC 1RP

What it looks like now:

DC:

1. Chris Olave

2. $2

BSC:

1. Kyler Murray

2. James Cook

Well this one seemed pretty fair at the trade’s conception, but a Kyler Murray injury and James Cook’s lackluster season turned the tides. Olave stepped in and became an immediate superstar that BSC could have really used. The Olave side prevails.

Garrett Wilson

Trade 1

What it looked like then

POR:

1. TCB 22 TCB 1RP

2. TCB 22 TCB 2RP

3. JK Dobbins

TCB:

1. Stefon Diggs

2. 22 POR 1RP

3. $11

What it looks like now:

POR:

1. Garrett Wilson

2. Jalen Tolbert

3. JK Dobbins

TCB:

1. Stefon Diggs

2. George Pickens

3. $11

A lot going on in this one. Portland unquestionably gets the best dynasty asset. That being said, they had to pay a premium to get it. Diggs is the headliner, but Pickens held his own as a rookie. Meanwhile Jalen Tolbert sucked and JK Dobbins came back slow from injury. I’ll give the slight edge to Sam.

Trade 2

What it looked like then:

DC:

1. Tee Higgins

2. 22 TCB 1RP

POR:

1. Cooper Kupp

2. 22 NAS 2RP

What it looks like now:

DC:

1. Tee Higgins

2. Garrett Wilson

POR:

1. Cooper Kupp

2. Rachaad White

Whoa. If Cooper Kupp stayed healthy last year, it probably would’ve been closer, but Higgins and Wilson are two of the better young WR in the league. Have to side with DC.

​

Breece Hall

Trade 1

What it looked like then:

TUC:

1. 22 NAS 1RP

2. $2

NAS:

1. Terry McLaurin

2. Clyde Edwards-Helaire

DC:

1. TUC 22 TUC 1RP

2. $2

What it looks like now:

​

TUC:

1. Breece Hall

2. $2

NAS:

1. Terry McLaurin

2. Clyde Edwards-Helaire

DC:

1. James Cook

1. $2

Well this one features several disappointing players from a year ago in Terry McLaurin, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and James Cook. The only player who was not disappointing was Breece Hall. However, the injury was disappointing. Despite that, Breece Hall carries much more long term potential than any of these names so the Javies take it.

Trade 2

What it looked like then:

REN:

-NAS 22 1st

-BSC 23 1st

TUC:

1. D’Andre Swift

2. 22 POR 1RP

3. 23 REN 1RP

What it looks like now:

REN:

-Breece Hall

-Jahmyr Gibbs

TUC:

1. D’Andre Swift

2. George Pickens

3. Dalton Kincaid

This one is probably my favorite. At the time, I was so ticked at Reno for making this deal. Now looking back at it, they completely fleeced Tucson. This trade also epitomizes the FCS because not one of these pieces are still on these respective rosters.

Overall, I did not know what to expect when I had the idea to plug in names. Now being able to look back on these deals, I think it speaks to how impressive the current group of FCS owners are. Rookie draft picks can be so volatile, yet most of these trades seem nearly dead even. Despite owners appearing to have differentiating opinions on how to value rookie draft picks, trades to this point seem reveal that, as a whole, the picks are valued fairly. It will be fun to revisit this in the future to see if this trend continues.